The present invention relates to an integrated U-tube and adsorbent unit for an accumulator of an automotive air conditioning system.
By way of background, insofar as known, in the past a refrigerant accumulator used in an automotive air conditioning system comprised a housing which contained a U-tube and a separate adsorbent unit associated therewith. The adsorbent unit, in the past, could have been of various shapes and sizes and could have been secured to the U-tube in many different ways. However, insofar as known, the prior art did not disclose an integrated U-tube and adsorbent unit wherein the adsorbent unit was an integral part of the U-tube. Also, insofar as known, in the past a separate filter construction was mounted on the return bend of a U-tube to filter the oil which was induced into the return bend. The addition of such a filter construction added costs which resulted from the additional material and labor. Also, insofar as known, in the past refrigerant tracer dye was placed directly in the adsorbent unit of an accumulator of an automotive air conditioning system.